Elizabeth Davies: It’s time to let Brett Favre go

Friday

Aug 28, 2009 at 12:01 AMAug 28, 2009 at 7:17 AM

It was Game Day in Green Bay, and the party was on. For several blocks on either side of the Packers’ stadium, Lambeau Field, the streets were a sea of green and gold. Team hats, jerseys, beads, shoes — there weren’t many fair-weather fans in the crowd.

Elizabeth Davies

It was Game Day in Green Bay, and the party was on.

For several blocks on either side of the Packers’ stadium, Lambeau Field, the streets were a sea of green and gold. Team hats, jerseys, beads, shoes — there weren’t many fair-weather fans in the crowd.

There was, however, the distinct scent of bitterness hanging in the air.

This scene came less than a week after famed former Packers quarterback Brett Favre signed with the Packers’ arch rival, the Minnesota Vikings. Only days before, No. 4 had shown up in a purple Vikings jersey. In Green Bay, there was no doubt it stung.

Leaving my hotel room, I caught my first glimpse of wounded Packer Pride. The guy seemed to blend in with everyone else, downing a beer next to the open gate of an SUV. But when I got closer, I realized that his No. 4 jersey had been altered. Where it used to read “Favre” on the back, it now read, “Judas.”

I laughed because, well, it was funny. So was the X’ed out “Four” shirt I saw on another guy and the jersey with “Benedict” written over Favre’s name. Perhaps my favorite shirt, though, was the one being sold on the street a block from the stadium. It read, “We’ll never 4-get you, Brent!”
Later, when the game was over but the beer continued to flow, Packer fans continued their political statements. “Brett who?” read the sign of one guy walking past a beer garden. “Who cares?” read the back of his sign as he walked away.

I found it all quite entertaining, this impassioned love/hate relationship Packer fans now seemed to have with their former QB. Presumably, the sting of watching their savior play for the opposing team will someday fade away and Favre will again return to Green Bay as a Hall of Famer. His name, I’m guessing, will show up alongside other Green Bay legends, and there won’t be an emotional asterisk next to it.

But for now, Favre would probably do well to stay away from the street bearing his name three blocks from Lambeau. The throng of fans surrounding him might not be as gracious as they once were.

Do I think it’s right, this change of heart toward Favre? Not really. Seems to me like everyone is getting mad at the wrong guy. After all, the Packers didn’t want him. His career options, outside of retirement, were somewhat limited.

Should Favre have snubbed the Vikings in hopes that another team — one outside the
Packers’ division — would sign him? Certainly not. There aren’t throngs of teams just waiting to sign a 40-year-old player, no matter how stellar his reputation.

And besides, how much loyalty can we reasonably expect out of any working professional? If you were laid off, would you think twice about taking a job — especially one paying $25 million — with the company’s chief competitor? Probably not. Even if you had a great career there at one time, you would be far more interested in earning a living than in maintaining corporate pride for an employer that didn’t want you around.

Of course, it’s fine for Packer fans to tell a few barroom jokes at Favre’s expense. Presumably he’s big enough to take it.

But as far as real grudges? It’s time to get past this, to stop focusing on another team and start
cheering on your own.